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The Media of Record for the People of Pender County www.post-voice.com
Commissioners approve funds for hurricane home repair By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher
faith based organizations, and charitable organizations who work together to meet the needs of Pender County Residents impacted by Hurricane Florence. The Pender LTRG works in collaboration with other organizations to assess needs, offer resources, and ensure that residents are assisted after all of their personal insurance, SBA loans, and FEMA assistance have been exhausted. “They will act as sub-grantees and utilize the $1.75 million to execute repair
Pender County Commissioners approved a distribution plan for $1.75 million is state Disaster Recovery Assistance grant funding to help Pender County homeowners hit by Hurricane Florence. The grant money will be administered by the Pender Long Term Recovery Group (PLTRG). The PLTRG is composed of non profits,
and replacement projects in coordination with the grant agreement,� said Pender County Planning Director Kyle Breuer. By working with the PLTRG, the county will be able to continue support of the recovery efforts that have been underway since Hurricane Florence hit Pender County. The Construction Committee of the PLTRG contains licensed general contractors, administrative staff, and other networks of assistance to complete projects
Stars of the show at the N.C. Spot Festival
ranging from minor repairs to full home replacements. “If people are still in need, people need to contact members of the Construction Committee to make sure they are on the list for evaluation,� Breuer said. “This money isn’t going to cover everybody.� As of Oct. 31, 63 residential projects have been completed in Pender County, 51 are currently underway, with 177 on a waiting list. These are Hurricane Florence owner-occupied homes.
Sheriff’s Dept. community meeting Nov.26 The Pender County Sheriff ’s office will hold a community meeting Nov. 26 from 6-8 p.m., the meeting will take place at Barlow Vista Baptist Church,22340 Hwy 17, N, Hampstead. All Pender County residents are invited come and meet Sheriff Alan Cutler and voice your concerns about your community.
NHRMC Advisory Group holds first meeting
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Tasty fried spots are the stars of the show at the N.C. Spot
Staff photos by Andy Pettigrew
Festival last weekend. Anna Romero-Lehrer and Brandy Edwards (above) start the process by dusting the ďŹ sh with a cornmeal mixture before frying. The cooked ďŹ sh are plated with the ďŹ xings to be sold to hungry festival goers. Money raised each year from the festival is distributed among Hampstead-area schools.
From Staff Reports At the introductory meeting of the New Hanover County and New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC) Partnership Advisory Group Oct. 29, members selected the group’s co-chairs and vice co-chairs and received an overview of the work ahead. The committee is looking at options for the possible sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center and it’s associated entities, including Pender Memorial Hospital. Pender County Commissioner David Williams serves on the committee. The meeting included a discussion of the timeline of meetings, moving toward the request for proposals being finalized in December. In January and February, the group is expected to evaluate options for NHRMC remaining independent, and then begin reviewing the proposals that come back in March, preparing a recommendation on how to move forward around April. If this recommendation involves some sort of partnership with another organization, additional due diligence will be done over the next four to six months before an agreement goes to the NHRMC Board of Trustees and County Commissioners for approval. The next two meetings of the Partnership Advisory Group will be Nov. 13 and Nov. 20, both taking place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the New Hanover County Government Center, 230 GovPush Mowers • Lawn Tractors •ernment Zero Turn Mowers Center Drive, in the Andre Trimmers & Chainsaws Mallete Training Room. The meetings buyout process, including surveys and ap- are open to the public, but do not inpraisals of the properties. Contractors are clude a public comment period. then hired after property closing to demolAn email address has been created ish the structure and return the property to for the community to share feedback its natural flood plain state. with the Partnership Advisory Group “After the hurricane, we asked people to throughout this process. The public apply if there were interested. We have the can email PAGcomments@nhcgov.com state make the decisions on the buyouts. We with comments and questions. just want to get as many projects funded as The Partnership Advisory Group possible. This program is 100 percent volun- was established following the New Hatary. This is one of the most important deci- nover County Commissioners’ Sept. sions in people’s lives. You can go through 16 approval of a resolution to begin the process and stop at any time, right up Continued on page 8A until the closing,â€? Breuer said.
25 properties in Special Flood Hazard Areas
County moves ahead with purchase of flood properties By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher Pender County Commissioners approved a grant agreement and budget of $4.1 million to acquire 25 residential structures as part of the Expedited Acquisition Program of FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The funds, which are 75 percent federal and 25 percent state, will be managed by Pender County. The goal of the Expedited Acquisition Program is to remove vulnerable structures from the Special Flood Hazard Area so
the property can be restored to its natural floodplain functions. These structures were considered substantially damaged and are located within 100-year floodplain. “This project is designed to buy properties and restore the flood plain to it’s natural state,� said Pender County Planning Director Kyle Breuer. “The county then owns the property with very specific deed restrictions that guarantee its status as open space. In a grouping of projects there might be an ability to do a park or a passive activity on the property.� Breuer says the county handles in the
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